The Croatian Foreign Minister, Gordan Grlić Radman, said on Tuesday 21 January that "the credibility of the European Union as a global player (should first) pass a success test in its immediate neighbourhood".
Before the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, where he presented the priorities of the Croatian Presidency of the EU Council (see EUROPE 12398/3), the Minister unsurprisingly focused on the EU's immediate neighbours, in particular the Western Balkans.
"The focus must be on stability and security in the immediate neighbourhood, resilience and reform efforts", Radman said, promising that his country would do its best to advance the enlargement policy. "The EU has good reasons to maintain a commitment to the consolidation of the European continent and not to allow any region of Europe to go adrift", he stressed, adding that having non-EU European countries "was not possible in the long-term".
According to the minister, "opening negotiations (for EU membership with North Macedonia and Albania) would send a clear message that the EU's approach to its closest neighbourhood is strategic".
Moreover, in his view, the Union should spare no effort to ensure that Bosnia and Herzegovina makes progress on its path towards the EU. Mr Radman also called for accession negotiations with Montenegro and Serbia to be more dynamic, and hoped that Kosovo will have a European perspective.
Turkey. The Croatian minister touched upon the relationship between Europeans and Turkey. While bilateral relations are "complex", the EU also has clear interests in the country, including migration.
"We should be ready to engage in a pragmatic dialogue" with Ankara, Mr Radman said, warning that the Union's influence would be lost if it did not. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)